Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, head of the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli, issued an unusual public appeal to students from preparatory schools and yeshivas not to enlist in Sayeret Matkal. He said the elite Israel Defense Forces unit has effectively become mixed, with religious male combatants serving alongside female fighters.
In a letter he published, Levinstein warned, “Students of the preparatory schools and yeshivas, do not be deceived by promises. Sayeret Matkal has become a mixed unit.” He said that even if applicants are told they will complete training in a separate team with no women, after the course they will be assigned to a combat platoon that includes women, and operational activity will be carried out together with them.
Levinstein also rejected the argument that such integration is justified by operational necessity. “They will try to persuade you that there is an ‘permission’ called ‘operational need.’ Its meaning is fighting shoulder to shoulder with women, but there is no such permission,” he wrote.
At the end of the letter, he urged young people to choose service tracks that fit their religious lifestyle. “Enlist in units that respect you and do not harm your worldview,” he wrote.
